Gibbs to Leave as White House Press Secretary  —  Updated Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary and close confidante to President Obama, said Wednesday that he will step down and become an outside political adviser to the president and his re-election campaign.

U.S. Alters Rule on Paying for End-of-Life Planning  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.

19 Democrats vote against Nancy Pelosi  —  Nearly 20 Democrats abandoned their party's pick for speaker of the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a sign of their concerns about supporting the unpopular former speaker and of the difficulty she will have in marshaling her forces …

EXCLUSIVE: President Michele Bachmann?  —  Sources: Tea Party Favorite Is Mulling a Presidential Bid in 2012  —  Forget the fervent chatter speculating that Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat …

Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families  —  On the eve of his demotion by voters from House Majority Leader to House Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Hoyer offered this insight into the psychology of the Tea Party movement: … So, there you have it.

Biting the Bullet on Majority Rule  —  Ruth Marcus says filibuster reformers should watch what we wish for: … This is the most frequent objection I hear to Senator Udall's proposal, but I don't think it makes sense.  The 113th Senate will change the rules to adopt a majority voting procedure …

KFC employee screams insults at customer  —  A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer.  —  The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26 …

Repealing health-care reform would cost hundreds of billions of dollars — and Eric Cantor knows it  —  House Republicans are in a pickle: One of their new rules says that new legislation must be paid for.  But the health-care bill reduces the federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.

Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt  —  Source: John P. Wheeler 3d planted incendiary devices at a neighbor's home in Del. days before his disappearance.  —  Police in Delaware have discovered evidence that a former Pentagon aide may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his murder …

Obama to address U.S. Chamber  —  President Obama will speak next month in front of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a spokeswoman for the organization confirmed Wednesday.  —  Obama will speak to the business group at a Feb. 7 meeting in a high-profile example of outreach from the administration to the business community.

Fiscal Shock  —  I see that the Washington Post editorial board is shocked, shocked to discover that the incoming Republicans aren't serious about deficit reduction.  Who could have suspected?  —  I was going to be snarky all the way here, but actually let's be serious …

WikiLeaks: ‘Voluptuous’ nurse cable costs diplomat his job  —  WASHINGTON — In what appears to be the first diplomatic casualty from the latest WikiLeaks revelations, the U.S. ambassador to Libya has returned to Washington and is likely to leave his post, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

Obama administration reorganizes health bureaucracy  —  The Obama administration will reorganize and expand its infrastructure for health reform implementation, POLITICO has learned.  —  The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, a new division created shortly after the passage …

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GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan: “I Can't Tell You The Answer” To Specific Spending Cuts  —  3 hours and 30 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein  —  This morning on NBC, incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) discussed the spending cuts that Republicans plan to enact in the new Congress.

Post-Midterm Approval Ratings Don't Predict Re-Election Chances  —  Barack Obama got some good news to start his new year: his Gallup approval rating ticked up to 50 percent yesterday, against 42 percent disapproval.  That's the first time it has been at the 50 percent threshold since early June.

Democratic Party ID Drops in 2010, Tying 22-Year Low  —  Democrats still outnumber Republicans, while independent identification increases  —  PRINCETON, NJ — In 2010, 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, down five percentage points from just two years ago and tied …

O'Donnell's Lawyer Says Campaign Records to Be Amended  —  Christine O'Donnell's lawyer has told the Federal Election Commission that she is reviewing the campaign's spending records and will file any fixes to them by the end of this month.  —  Cleta Mitchell, a top Republican elections attorney …

‘Earmarks’ to nowhere: States losing billions  —  WASHINGTON — Almost 13 years ago, Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., directed $375,000 in federal funding “to improve State Road 31” in Columbus, Ind., a city at the edge of his district.  —  The McIntosh “earmark” seemed routine at the time …

The Constitution is dead.  Long live the Constitution.  —  Every patriotic fiber of my body tells me that reading the Constitution aloud at the commencement of congressional sessions is a good idea.  Heck, a pop quiz might even be in order.  It is vital that members of Congress fully immerse themselves …